Royse City School Board approves Bond Election

(ROYSE CITY, TX — February 16, 2018) On Monday, Feb. 12, the Royse City ISD School Board unanimously approved a May 2018 Bond Referendum to address current and future student enrollment growth. This vote comes one week after the Bond Steering Committee presented its recommended projects. This $60 million project was designed to meet rapid growth in Royse City ISD. A bond election will be held on May 5, 2018 for all residents of Royse City ISD.

The program includes a new 1,000 student middle school in Fate, Texas across from Fate City Hall, a band hall expansion at Royse City High School as well as renovations and upgrades to Royse City Middle School, Ruth Cherry Intermediate, Davis Elementary and Anita Scott Elementary. The $60 million total will be funded though property value growth within Royse City ISD and will not cause any tax rate increases for property owners. The land for the new middle school in Fate is already owned by Royse City ISD.

Members of the Bond Steering Committee represented parents, staff members, business owners, grandparents and community members from all parts of Royse City ISD. The group met multiple times through January and were provided with information from demographers, financial experts, construction professionals and district officials in order to identify and prioritize the items needed for this bond program. In addition, they were aided by the districts Master Facility Plan that outlines ways to address growth for the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years.

“We are proud of the work of this committee. Having representation from all parts of Royse City ISD as well as guidance from demographers helped form this plan to address the growth that is here and continues to come,” said Superintendent Kevin Worthy. “I’m looking forward to sharing this information with our communities. Transparency and communication is key when it comes to taxpayer dollars.”

If approved this May, the new middle school would be slated to open in August of 2020 to serve students in grades 6-8. At that time, the district’s grade configuration would shift to a Pre-K to 5th grade elementary model, 6-8th grade middle school model and remain with one 9-12th grade high school. This transition will allow the district’s two current intermediate campuses (Herndon & Cherry) to become elementary schools in 2020.
Royse City ISD’s student enrollment is projected to grow by 5% or greater each year for the next 10 years. The latest forecast from Templeton Demographics show that the district will surpass 10,000 students by 2027-2028. This combined with campus enrollments and capacities shows that a new middle school and the transition to 6 elementary schools will address the growth.

Details on the Royse City ISD May 2018 Bond Referendum will be posted on our website at: www.rcisd.org/bond2018.

Submitted press release.

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